Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

Bee forage check

How good is this spot for honey bees?

Enter an address or tap the map. You'll see which bee plants and crops are within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more), when the honey flow comes and when there's a dearth, nearby water, a few things worth checking, and how the spot ranks against random sites in your state and across the country.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

The colors are the national forage map: every square kilometer of the lower 48, scored the same way. See the honey flow for your state and town, the best and worst spots we found, or how the scoring works.

Forage report for 42.2326, -88.3355

Estimated forage here is better than about 17% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in fall (99th percentile) and lowest in summer (10th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.9 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.0 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.6 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.45 mi W. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 80th, fall 85th)
  • Illinois: 17th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 10th, fall 99th)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 65th percentile (spring 98th, summer 14th, fall 90th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Illinois, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Sep 30 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 720 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 447 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 114 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Black locust; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 90% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021-2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. Honey composition is a nectar-source estimate, not a pollen analysis. Benchmark 2026.5. How this works.